This invention relates to temperature measuring instruments, and in particular to an apparatus for inducing heat into a test device so that the accuracy of a thermally-activated instrument can be determined.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,869 in the name of one of the inventors of this application relates to an apparatus of much the same character as this invention. In that patent, several embodiments of a device for inducing heat into an instrument such as a thermometer bulb, a temperature probe, thermocouples, or any other type of instrument are disclosed. While the invention of the patent functions well under most operating conditions, because the thermocouple sensor is fixed in place usually inside a heated enclosure, highly accurate temperature readings are sometimes difficult to obtain, particularly if the instrument being heated is small so that the thermocouple sensor is not in direct contact with the instrument. If the thermocouple is not fixed in place, but rather loose, inaccuracies can also be introduced because of improper positioning of the thermocouple.